Canada's third largest city is poised to pass a series of unprecedented regulations for its medical marijuana dispensaries this week, amid opposition from a federal government that has fashioned itself arch enemy of pot for any purpose.
A suite of rules proposed by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will make his city the first in Canada to clarify the legal gray zone in which medical marijuana shops currently operate.
The new rules will limit ownership of these shops to individuals with no criminal record, ban the sale of edibles, limit where these shops can open, and slap $35,000 in annual fees onto the owners.
Vancouver's city council will vote on the measures on Tuesday, and they will almost certainly be approved. It comes amid an ongoing battle by marijuana producers to gain a toe-hold in the lucrative Canadian market. The federal government, however, is intent on keeping a lid on the burgeoning pot business, limiting access and charging crushing fees for the producers. Thanks to that system, there are less than two dozen licensed producers across the country, and only 17 of those are permitted to distribute pot, via mail, to patients.
While the new Vancouver rules are pitched as a "
crackdown," promising to shutter as many as a fourth of the shops that currently operate in the city, the federal government is nevertheless furious.
"There are serious health risks associated with smoking marijuana, especially for kids. That is why our Conservative government wants to stop kids from smoking marijuana," read talking points provided to VICE News by a spokesperson for Health Minister Rona Ambrose.
The minister declined an interview.
The minister's outrage over the changes, which would in no way license the sale of marijuana to children, made headlines. Less attention was paid to what Canada's Conservative government wants done about it.
"Our government does not support making drugs more accessible," a spokesperson for Canada's Public Safety Minister told VICE News on Friday, when asked whether the government plans on sending in police to shut down these stores. "We expect all local cities and police to respect and enforce the law."
While cities may be looking to codify rules on the dispensaries — of which there are at least 80 in Vancouver alone — they remain illegal under federal law.
Ottawa won't say whether or not it intends on tasking the federal police service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to raid the grow-ops, much like the American government
has for years used the FBI to impose federal drug laws at the expense of the state's rules on medical marijuana.
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At present, the federal government's plan is to pressure the city to abandon their regulations and to have the city send in the Vancouver Police Department to shut down the shops. Ottawa has been clear: it wants these medical marijuana dealers arrested.
The health minister has already
written a letter to Vancouver's mayor, maintaining that "these regulations are clear and do not provide municipalities with authority to legitimize the commercial sale of marijuana."
The minister is referring to Canada's Marijuana — or, as the government calls it, Marihuana — for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR), which puts strict limits on how users can obtain their medicine. The regime tightly controls how the pot is grown, and forbids any distribution, except by mail.